Issue link: https://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/535050
54 BizEd JULY | AUGUST 2015 your turn ILLUSTRATION BY JUSTINE BECKETT Hybrid Innovation PREPARING TODAY'S STUDENTS FOR TOMORROW'S JOBS BY FRANK VIDAL THE BUSINESS SCHOOL IS DEAD, long live the business school. This declaration, modeled on the cry that used to go up when one monarch passed away and a new one took the throne, is not de- signed to strike fear into the hearts of deans. Instead, it should encourage them to recognize that one business school model is dying o and a new norm is taking its place. The business school as we know it is no more—or at least it shouldn't be. The reason behind this "velvet revolution" in business education? Hybridization. The word might conjure up images of cross-bred experiments produced by mad biologists, but it is likely to be a key term in the next generation of business education. Schools no longer can aord to mold managers by teaching traditional and distinct subjects such as finance, marketing, and strategy. Companies are demanding graduates with cross-disci- plinary skills that can be delivered only through hybridized courses. A study that was published by EY and LinkedIn shows the business landscape is shifting so fast that 60 percent of tomorrow's careers are not yet known. Before 2020, we should see the development of a host of new pro- fessions that sound as if they belong to the realm of science fiction: augmented reality architect, waste data manager, 3-D printing manager, seed capitalist, and corporate competition designer, just to name a few. These future professionals won't be identified with simple labels such as manager, engineer, or technician; they won't follow classic, fenced-o career paths. They will need multidisciplinary education that blurs the boundaries among professions and qualifications.